Shortly before the winter break, students in The Varnett Public School’s ALPHA program worked on how to get Santa’s Sleigh from Texas to the North Pole (not literally of course). The scholars were introduced to the engineering design process which is flexible and may be completed in any order.
We used simple materials such as string, balloons, straws and tape to test how far Santa's Sleigh would travel. If Santa's sleigh did not make it to the North Pole, the students had to figure out what went wrong by testing different size balloons, straws, and angles of the string.
At the conclusion of the experiment, students were asked questions, such as:
- What are some of the challenges you discovered along the way?
- What worked well and what did not work well?
- What other materials would you like to use if you could do this challenge again?
William Washington and Mia Carasco, both seventh graders, were learning about thrust and Newton’s Third Law of Motion that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
When you blow up a balloon it’s filled with gas. When you release the balloon, the air/gas escapes, creating a forward-pushing motion called thrust! Thrust is created by the energy released from the balloon. This is the third law of motion. When the gas is forced out of the balloon, it is pushed back against the air outside the balloon, which then pushes the balloon forward!
Genius Hour is an approach to learning in which students are guided by their own interests, background knowledge and curiosity to learn.
In ALPHA (Advanced Learning Program for High Achievers), we focus on creativity and academics.
Mrs. Ingrett White-Moore, ALPHA Program Specialist, The Varnett Public School